The improvement of the heat transfer rate of phase change material（PCM）is studied by mixing with carbon fiber（CF）which is a good heat conductor.The composite PCM is prepared by blending CF and n-Docosane and its thermal performance is tested using the method of differential scanning calorimetry（DSC）analysis and thermogravimetric/differential thermal analysis（TG/DTA）.In addition,the influence of the mixing amount and the length of CF on the thermal conductivity of n-Docosane are investigated.The results show that CF can significantly improve the heat transfer rate of n-Docosane,and the mixing amount and the length of CF are two influence factors.The heat storage and release rates increase with the increase in the mixing amount of CF.Moreover,the melting point of n-Docosane is increased from 40.2 to 50.8 ℃ after being mixed with CF.The heating time is decreased from 720 to 660 s by mixing with 6% of CF,and is decreased to 600 s by mixing with 10% of CF.
